Downtown

P: Ten years ago Peerless was a good automobile. Last year Peerless became a shut-down automobile factory. Last June Peerless decided to become a beer. So Peerless Motor Car Corp. changed its name to Peerless Corp., gave its stockholders rights to purchase one new share of stock at $5 for each five shares they held, announced that Redmond & Co. of the New York Stock Exchange had agreed to underwrite the sale of all shares not subscribed by stockholders. Of the 92,348 shares offered, stockholders subscribed just 277. Last week Redmond & Co. refused to take the 92,071 Peerless shares remaining. Its refusal was based on the opinion of its lawyers (Sullivan & Cromwell) that Peerless Corp. had no charter right to engage in the brewing business, no right to sell stock to finance a wholly owned brewing subsidiary. Promptly Peerless Corp. hired slick little Max D. Steuer to file suit against Redmond & Co. to make it carry out its contract, to collect damages.

P: Leonor Fresnel Loree, grizzled old president of Delaware & Hudson, last week addressing Manhattan's Bond Club took occasion to tell his youngers how wrong are nearly all popular beliefs. Particular joy did he take in casting his spear at the Senate doctrine that business executives are overpaid. Declaring that good executives are too scarce, he came out for "an extension of the powers of management and its freedom from unwarranted interference by its associates [Capital & Labor] and by the politician. Its authority is now too limited and its compensation too inadequate."

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